Two Haverford College Students Who Tried to Hack Trump’s Taxes Get Probation
“You didn’t get the candidate’s tax returns, but you’re going to hand over your own”
The attempted hack took place right before the 2016 election. The sentence seems a bit light, doesn’t it?
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:
2 former Haverford College students sentenced to probation for attempted Trump tax hack
Six days before the 2016 presidential election, two Haverford College students had an idea: They could try to get Donald Trump’s tax returns, which the then-candidate refused to release and which had become an election issue. Andrew Harris and Justin Hiemstra swiped into a school computer lab and tried to download Trump’s filings.
What began as a ploy by two computer-savvy college kids to get the tax returns the nation was buzzing about ended Monday in federal court in Philadelphia, where U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe said her probationary sentences for Harris and Hiemstra were intended to make an impression on them and “on anyone out in the public” who would seek to “abuse privileges and privacy of others.”
Harris, now 23, of Philadelphia, and Hiemstra, 22, of Minnesota, each was sentenced to two years’ probation and 200 hours of community service. They also must cooperate with a financial investigation by the probation office. Both men pleaded guilty this year to charges of accessing a computer without authorization and attempting to access information from the federal government. Tax returns are private documents.
“You didn’t get the candidate’s tax returns, but you’re going to hand over your own,” Rufe told Harris.
Harris’ sentence also included drug treatment, a mental health program, and letters of apology to affected students and the college.
At separate sentencing hearings, Harris and Hiemstra expressed remorse and apologized to other students whose passwords were used. Family members and friends sat in the courtroom.
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Comments
her probationary sentences for Harris and Hiemstra were intended to make an impression on them
Oh, they’ll make an impression, all right.
The trivialization and looming collapse of law & order may be the greatest crisis afflicting the Western world today.
Is any legal action being taken against Rachel Maddow for showing an illegally obtained Trump tax return on her TV show?
What action could be taken? She had every legal right to do that.
“Harris’ sentence also included drug treatment, a mental health program, and letters of apology to affected students and the college.”
How about a letter of apology to President Trump?
Unlikely that the Judge was Republican nominated, making it highly unlikely any apology to the President was even contemplated. The sentence doesn’t seem like one a Trump Judge (yes, Chief Justice Roberts, there are such) would issue.
Double justice system again. Imagine if Mueller had identified a Trump campaign worker who tried to get Hillary’s tax return. Judges are openly declaring war on conservatives and allowing Democrats to walk free.